Talentpalooza
by Writer's-BlockDP
Summary: Sam and Danny have a major fight and aren't speaking to each other, leaving Tucker stuck in the middle as he prepares his act for the school talent show. Sam now has to find a way to turn her act into an apology for Danny. DxS.


Okay, I know, songfics are normally boring to read. I actually hate reading them, but this idea came to me when I was trying to go to sleep the other night. The following day I began working on it. This is a oneshot, based around Natalie Grant's song, "That's When I'll Give Up On Loving You". One thing I know about songfics is what a pain it is to actually read the songs themselves. I want to just ask anyone who reads this to please actually read the song, as it plays a HUGE part in this fic. Ok, that said, let's get on with the story!

Oh, almost forgot! I don't own Danny Phantom or Natalie Grant, but that's just because I can't seem to find Desiree anywhere!

"All I'm saying is that you need to be more careful. If you're not, one of these days a ghost is going to turn you fully into one of them."

"Geeze, Sam. Are you turning into my mom or something? Actually, she's more of a threat to me than the ghosts are," Danny joked.

Sam obviously wasn't in the mood for joking. "That's another thing I've been meaning to talk to you about. Why haven't you told them yet? If she knew, she wouldn't be a threat anymore."

"But you were the one who told me to keep it a secret in the first place!" Danny exclaimed.

Tucker hung back, not wanting to get in the middle of the heated "discussion" The truth is, if he did wind up getting pulled into it, he didn't know who he would side with. Danny was his best friend, and Tucker disagreed with many of Sam's values. However, when Sam wanted something, she usually got it. She had a particular fire in her eyes then she latched onto something to fight for. He knew that Danny loved that fire… as long as he wasn't the target of it.

As it stood now, Danny and Sam were arguing about every possible thing. The trio reached the school just as Danny exclaimed, "I never want to see you again! I hate you!"

Tears brimming in her eyes, Sam rushed into the school and into the ladies room before they could spill over. Danny stormed off to his locker, leaving Tucker standing in the doorway. "Guys? Can't we talk?"

-----Insert theme song here-----

Part 2 – Lunchtime Blues

During many of their classes, Danny and Sam had seats next to each other. This didn't change after the fight. Sam by now was sorry that she had ever fought with him. She tried to get Danny's attention, but he stubbornly refused. Upset that he still wasn't listening to her, Sam resigned herself to actually paying attention to Mr. Lancer for once.

When lunchtime finally rolled around, Sam made it to the cafeteria in record time and flew through the salad bar. Sitting at the trio's usual table, she watched the door and anxiously waited for Danny to arrive. She finally saw him in the lunch line, laughing and joking with Tucker and Valerie. _"He doesn't even miss me."_ The single thought played out in her head. Before the tears could come, she stood up and rushed out of the cafeteria, leaving her tray where it was. She didn't see the vacant look in Danny's normally sparkling eyes as they followed the sudden movement, or the gentle way that he got rid of her tray, staring at the door the whole time.

Tucker and Sam walked together home from school. Danny had run into several ghosts, leaving Tucker almost as soon as they had left the building. Tucker had spotted Sam, more depressed than usual, staring wistfully after Danny. When he walked after her and asked what was wrong, she denied everything and reassured him that she was fine. "Well, if you're sure…," he trailed off. "I have to go practice my magic act."

Sam immediately gave him a puzzled stare, "You're a magician?"

"School talent show is in two days," he explained. "Are you doing anything?"

"I wasn't going to, but now…," She looked thoughtful, "I have to go."

As she was turning around to go, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Tucker gave her a concerned look, "Are you sure you're okay? Danny's been acting weird all day."

Sam shrugged his hand off nonchalantly. "I'm fine, and now I really have to go get ready." She took off running toward her house.

Tucker just shrugged his shoulders and continued on his way.

Part3- Bully Trouble

Life continued in this manner for the next day, with Sam no longer trying to get Danny's attention and with him utterly ignoring her. After school he went to Tucker's house, once again leaving her completely alone.

These past few days had been the worst of Danny's entire life. He tried to act like everything was normal, but nothing was the same without Sam. In the lunch line on the day of the fight, he laughed emptily at one of Tucker's corny jokes. It was more out of necessity than because he thought Tucker was funny. If he didn't laugh, Tucker would know that there was something wrong, and he didn't want him to worry. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sam get up abruptly and leave the crowded cafeteria. Once Danny had gotten his own food, he walked slowly over to get rid of the abandoned tray.

A faint mist clouded his eyes at this point, and when Dash picked him up later on to shove him into a locker, even the bully noticed it. Danny wasn't reacting, not even struggling to get free like he normally did. His eyes were hauntingly empty. Dash set the smaller boy down, concern flooding his face. "Fenton, you okay?" Normally Dash wouldn't have been worried about Danny's well-being, but the other boy wasn't acting like he usually did, and, to tell the truth, it was creeping Dash out. Danny didn't acknowledge the question, just continued walking down the hall.

Part4- The Talent Show Begins

The next Day at the talent show, Kwan took the mike and read his poem, "The Fluffy Clouds all look like footballs". When he got down, the audience was completely silent, staring at him with looks of shock and horror on their faces.

As soon as Kwan had left the stage, blaring music blasted through the speakers. Paulina walked to the center of the stage, keeping her steps perfectly timed with the heavy backbeat.

The music increased in tempo, and she began to break-dance… or at least _attempt_ to. Three minutes into her performance, she ran out of moves and decided to make up her own. She executed a perfect cartwheel, trying to transform it into a back flip. She flung herself into the air, but in the wrong direction. The crowd watched, shocked, as Paulina performed a beautiful back flip right off the stage, hitting the floor with a loud splat.

Over the twittering and giggling audience, the announcer said, "And now for our next performance by Tucker Foley and Danny Fenton."

Sam gasped. She hadn't known that Danny was in the talent show at all. Because of the fight, she was sure that Danny didn't know about her last minute entry wither. That was the way she wanted it. Her performance was going to be the last one. Sam was so absorbed in her thoughts that only now did she notice that Danny was missing. Tucker was on the stage, looking somewhat lost without his assistant.

"Umm… Danny's running a little late," he stammered.

Mikey, a small redhead with freckles and glasses, jumped into the air, waving his arms. "Oh! Oh! Can I fill in?"

Tucker sighed. Did he really have another option? He gestured to Mikey to come on up.

When the other boy reached the stage, Tucker held up two rings linked together. They were made of metal about an inch thick, and everyone could see that these were not the usual type of rings that most magicians use. These would not be the type of rings that would separate with a slight tug.

Tucker handed one to Mikey, keeping the other in his own hand. "Now, when I give the signal, all you have to do is pull."

Mikey nodded, always overeager, and gave a hard yank on his ring.

Tucker stumbled forward, then glared at the redhead. "Not yet!" Mikey simultaneously cringed and gave him a sheepish grin. They were just about to start again when they heard a loud cry.

"I'm here!" Danny Fenton threw open the back door and raced down the aisle. "Sorry I'm late; I got attacked by some delusional kid and a bunch of cardboard boxes." Only Tucker and Sam knew what he was talking about, everyone else thought that a crazy seven-year-old was running around the town hitting people with large pieces of cardboard.

When Tucker saw Danny, he shoved Mikey off the stage in one smooth motion. Everybody started laughing when he landed on Paulina, Sam laughing harder than anybody else.

Danny hopped up onto the stage and grabbed his ring. It was about at this point that Tucker noticed Valerie sitting in the fifth row. He smiled at her, simultaneously yanking on his ring. Danny, unfortunately, still had a firm grip on the other. He flew forward, hitting Tucker. Both boys wound up in a crumpled heap on the ground.

Getting up and brushing himself off, Danny glared at Tucker. The other boy just grinned and shrugged.

Tucker shouted over the continuing laughter, "Third time's the charm!" At the same time he threw a look at Danny that Sam interpreted as, 'Don't you dare mess this up.'

The two boys simultaneously gave a light tug on their rings, pulling them easily apart. The audience gasped. They had just witnessed so much yanking on the metal hoops that they knew they were solidly locked in place, yet they had just seen these two boys separate them with no trouble at all.

Meanwhile, Danny and Tucker were moving on to their next trick. There was a large upright box in the back of the stage, which was now scooted forward. It was very plain looking, made of misshapen pieces of plywood nailed together. Anyone who looked at Tucker's bruised thumb and splinter-filled fingers could tell who the "expert" was who had pieced this together.

The door swung open on crooked hinges, and Tucker invited any members of the audience who wanted to up onto the stage to make sure there were no tricks going on. Nobody moved. Apparently satisfied with the response, Tucker motioned to Danny to get into the box as Sam leaned forward in her seat. This was going to be good. Tucker shut Danny in, pulled out a padlock, and snapped it in place to secure the door. He then reached into a trunk and pulled out a long razor-sharp sword.

Sam couldn't help but joke to herself that it was a good thing that Tucker wasn't as klutzy as Danny was, or half of the audience would be part of a shish-ka-bob by now.

Inserting the sword into the box, Tucker pushed until just the handle was left poking out, and the sharp tip had emerged on the other side. He continued in this manner until nearly a dozen swords were sticking through the plywood in various places. There was no way that they could have all missed the boy inside. The swords were pulled out, and the padlock was removed. When the door swung open, Sam was the only member of the audience that didn't gasp as Danny walked out completely unscathed.

Mere moments after this, not wasting any more time, Tucker announced that he would need a volunteer from the audience. Dash threw up his hand after a glance from Paulina, deviously trying to show off for her. His was the only hand raised. Sighing, he walked onto the stage, only to be met by evil grins from Danny and Tucker.

Sam couldn't help but laugh when it was announced that the next trick was the old "cutting the person in half" show.

A box was rolled out, this one in slightly better shape than the last one. It had holes at either end for a head and legs. Danny offered to help Dash get in, but was refused by the larger boy and shoved away. Glaring at the quarterback, Danny left the stage while Dash climbed into the box.

Tucker closed the lid and held up a saw, bending it and letting go to make is jiggle. He felt a small tap on his shoulder, the signal he and Danny had devised to let him know that his invisible friend was in place.

Tucker placed the saw on top of the box and started to cut through it. Danny, meanwhile, reached through the box and turned Dash's midsection intangible. The saw went right through the jock and cut only the wood.

When Tucker finished cutting through the box, he took out a thin plastic panel and slid it between the two halves to show that Dash was indeed in two pieces. Then Tucker commanded, "Now come out whole!"

Before Dash had a chance to climb out of the box the same way he had gotten in, Danny turned his entire body intangible. The larger boy fell right through the box and the table, landing on the floor with a loud thud as Danny delivered payback for the shove he had been given earlier. Floating backstage once more, he regained visibility and walked out. Everybody was still laughing at Dash as the quarterback clambered to his feet, bumping his head on the table in his haste to get off the stage.

Tucker and Danny moved to center stage to take a bow. Holding hands, they simultaneously bent over. While they were still in this position, thick gray smoke exploded between them. Within just a few moments the smoke had cleared, but the two freshmen were no longer there.

Part5- The Final Act

Several short acts followed this, including two jocks _attempting_ to rap and one of the nerds showing off his collection of "nerd poker" cards.

Sam's act was next. She walked tentatively up onto the stage and took the mike in her hand. Music started, playing softly but with a fun beat at the same time. Then the lilting lyrics began to flow from Sam's lips, as clear and beautiful as a mountain stream.

"No heartbeat is always steady.

Angels have halos already.

Please, don't think you're proving yourself all the time.

I don't need you to be perfect.

I know the wait will be worth it.

You and me, baby, we're only just learning to shine.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And you should know

this my love

how far I'll go,

Here's when I'll give up:"

Having finished with her first verse, Sam moved her focus from the back wall and began scanning the audience. Sitting in the second-to-back row, Danny realized, "_She's looking for us!_"

"When the sun is coming out at midnight,

when the clocks have all run out of time,

when the snow falls in June,

that's when I'll give up on loving you.

When the Earth is spinning, spinning all around,

When it's raining up instead of down,

When a dream can't come true,

When the rivers all run out of blue,

That's when I'll give up on loving you."

By now she was no longer searching the audience, but instead had her eyes closed and was swaying with the music. Finishing the chorus, Sam moved on to the second verse, singing from the heart and meaning every word.

"You'll never run out of chances.

I don't need you to have all the answers.

Love isn't something that has to be put to the test.

And love like this can't be on mend.

I'm telling you, if the day should come:"

Danny couldn't help but admire Sam's remarkably good singing voice. She moved on to the chorus once more, skimming her eyes over the spellbound viewers.

"When the sun is coming out at midnight,

when the clocks have all run out of time,

when the snow falls in June,

that's when I'll give up on loving you.

When the Earth is spinning, spinning all around,

When it's raining up instead of down,

When a dream can't come true,

When the rivers all run out of blue,

That's when I'll give up on loving you…"

As she held out the final "you" her eyes locked on Danny's. He suddenly realized that he had been wrong earlier when he had assumed she was looking for him and Tucker. She had been looking for just _him_.

From the stage as she began the third and final verse, Sam saw the sudden realization in Danny's eyes. It was true, this song was for him. He was the only one who would ever have the privilege of her singing this song to him. He was the only object of her love, and it had taken this argument for her to realize it.

"As you're walking through the world you've gotta know

I'll be with you everywhere you go.

You can spread your wings or run back to my arms.

I will always hold you in my heart.

Baby, you'll always be a part of me.

Baby, can't you see?"

Danny rose from his seat and slipped out the back door as Sam finished the last verse. Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to fall. He was rejecting her. That was the only conclusion she could come up with. She somehow managed to choke out the final words of the song.

"When the sun is coming out at midnight,

when the clocks have all run out of time,

when the snow falls in June,

that's when I'll give up on loving you.

When the Earth is spinning, spinning all around,

When it's raining up instead of down,

When a dream can't come true,

When the rivers all run out of blue,

That's when I'll give up on loving you.

When the snow falls in June,

That's when I'll give up on loving you.

When the Earth is spinning, spinning all around,

When it's raining up instead of down,

When a dream can't come true,

When the rivers all run out of blue,

That's when I'll give up on loving you.

Oh, Baby, that's when I'll give up on loving you."

Sam replaced the mike and hurried off the stage, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. The thunderous applause fell on deaf ears, and as soon as she was behind the curtain Sam allowed the tears to fall. So upset over what had just transpired, she was startled when a hand came seemingly out of nowhere and brushed the tears off her face. Looking up at the unexpected interruption, Sam's amethyst eyes met the clear baby blue eyes of the boy who had been her best friend for nearly her whole life.

Danny's words were almost inaudible as he whispered, "Did you mean all of that?"

Sam nodded silently in response, averting her eyes while waiting for his reply.

Instead of saying anything in return, he moved his face forward, swiftly closing the short distance between their faces. Her eyes went wide as his lips met hers, then she relaxed and returned it. Tears of sadness became tears of joy as she leaned into him. Elated thoughts danced through her head. A bright flash and a quiet "Oops!" from across the room interrupted them.

Sam broke away from Danny, ready to pummel whoever it was. Tucker was fiddling with his PDA, muttering something about accidentally leaving the flash on.

He happened to glance up to see both his friends moving toward him and wearing murderous glares. Sam cracked her knuckles as Danny's eyes turned green. Tucker backed up until he was up against the wall, holding his hands in the air in a pleading surrender. "You guys know I'd never blackmail you, right? I mean, why would I? You're both so…dangerous!"

He yelped and turned to run, his words drowned out by calls of, "Get his PDA!" and, "Got it!"

These were punctuated even more by the sound of breaking glass and Tucker's cry of, "My baby! NOOO!"

Hope you enjoyed this! I'm thinking of possibly writing a sequel, but an doing so many other things right now that it would be pretty hard. Still, let me know what you think! All reviews are loved!


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